Keto 101: How Ketogenic Diet Works?

How Does the Ketogenic Diet Work?

Ketogenic Diet Works | How Ketogenic Diet Works | Why Ketogenic Diet Works | Ketosis State

The Ketogenic Diet is the new trend in the health and fitness world. You have probably heard of it from famous celebrities, bloggers, and health experts, as being an effective way of reducing weight. You heard it right. We have already switched to this low-carb, high-fat diet because of the many testimonials to its effect in health and weight loss. However, you shouldn’t just try it out because of other people’s endorsements, or because it is popular. You need to understand how ketogenic diet works so you can assess if it’s something that will work for you.

Low Carbohydrates Intake Leads to Less Body Sugar and Fat

The first important idea behind keto dieting is the low-carb intake. Carbohydrates are dietary nutrients that our body breaks down to sugar, to produce the fuel or energy that we need for everyday living. If the carbs that we eat are not burned and used as energy, they are stored in the muscles and will turn to body fat after some time. For those inactive individuals, this could lead to several diseases like obesity, diabetes, and liver problems. Therefore, you should lower your carbohydrate intake to lessen the unused sugar in your system, and lessen the chances of getting body fats.

Depleted Supply of Carbohydrates will Start Ketosis

Explaining how ketogenic diet works also needs explaining of the word ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic state wherein your body does not have enough carbohydrates to produce fuel. Due to the lack of carbohydrates, the liver digs into the stored fats and converts them to ketones. Ketone bodies will then be oxidized to produce the energy for our brain and entire body. If you want to begin with keto dieting, your ketosis activation will depend on the amount of carbohydrates you are eating. The lesser the carbs intake, the sooner you enter into a ketosis state. It will also help to do more physical activities to burn carbohydrates faster.

Eat More Fats to Replace Carbs as Energy Source

How well the ketogenic diet will work once you enter the ketosis metabolism will now depend on the amount of fats that you intake. In the ketosis state, your body will rely on fat as the main energy source. The more fat that you eat, the better. The fat will keep you energized and will satisfy your hunger. You must however, maintain your low-carb intake to remain in ketosis state. Limit your carbs from 10-20 grams per day. Create a keto meal plan that has high fat, right amount of protein, and low carbohydrates content. As much as possible, stick to food sources that have natural and healthy fats like avocado, eggs, nuts, seeds, fishes and dairy products.

Staying in Ketogenic Diet will Reduce Body Weight

Keto diet will help you lose weight because of two reasons. First, since you are consuming less carbs, you are also consuming fewer calories. Secondly, you burn all the body fats in the body to produce ketones and create energy. You should do these two things faithfully to see the results on your weight. However, you should also enjoy the overall health benefits of this diet rather than just weight loss. This way, you can stay motivated to strictly follow the diet.

Keto Diet has Some Side Effects

During the transition to ketosis state, your body will feel several effects of low carbohydrates intake and loss of water and some nutrients in your system. Examples of these side effects are flu-like symptoms, leg cramps, headache and weaker physical performance. These are not permanent. They will eventually go away once your body switches to ketosis state. However, you can drink plenty of water and consume more salt to help cure these side effects faster. Consuming magnesium supplement is also advisable.

In the long term, some say that keto diet will eventually damage the liver because of the stress in producing the amount of ketones that you need. Also, it might be difficult for an individual to go back with the normal metabolism once he decides to quit keto diet. However, these are not yet proven to be true.

Now that you know how ketogenic diet works, you can decide if this type of diet is something that you want to do. The idea behind keto diet is very likely to produce good results, but just like any other diet, you need full commitment.

Ketogenic Diet Works | How Ketogenic Diet Works | Why Ketogenic Diet Works | Ketosis State